Of Sirens and Songs
by leeleepupu
Summary: A/U. 21st century. Caroline is a vampire who wants to make a home for herself in New Orleans; Klaus, who is the reigning king of New Orleans, finds himself intrigued when he runs into her and finds she has a few unexpected connections to his past. [Give it a try! ] Disclaimer: I do not own any characters.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note –** Another person on Tumblr sent me a prompt – **Klaus sees Caroline singing in a bar in NOLA. **Expect another one-shot coming your way soon. This person sent me another interesting prompt too. This story will be divided into **THREE/FOUR PARTS**. This is the first part, the second part will be uploaded soon.

This WAS NOT DECIDED. I am riddled with the guilt of not updating Paradise Regained! Ugh, I plan to do it ASAP. I'm working on it and it's going to be a nice chapter. I hope you guys like it. I'm so sorry for being an asshole and working on other one-shots. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this, lovelies.

**Of Sirens and Songs**

The first time he had seen her it had been during the celebration of the Casket Girls day. A flash of blonde hair transforming into mist before he could attach a face to it, she had run past him – the scent of her he remembered clearly because this was not a scent he was familiar with. And as the King of New Orleans, Klaus prided in being familiar with _every_ Vampire who stepped into New Orleans. It was customary of everyone to present themselves in Court, to pay respect to the King. But it seemed like somebody had skipped their duties.

Klaus had been engaged in other matters and could not find out for himself why a vampire roamed around his streets without introduction. He didn't worry about it though. He knew she'd come. Every new vampire had to present himself/herself in his court and state the reason of their visit, and acquire permission for residence if the visit was permanent.

He knew she'd come.

He was wrong.

* * *

He had all but forgotten about her when one day she struck again. This time Klaus really _saw_ her – not as a golden blurred streak, but as an entire person. And he was startled. She had been laughing and giggling – all by herself, curiously – when she collided into Klaus, who seemed startled by the familiar scent, he somehow couldn't place. It was _her_, Klaus realized.

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry – are you okay?" The vampire looked apologetically to see if she'd hurt him. Perhaps, she thought him human – which meant, she wasn't old enough to tell if a person was a vampire or a human and also that she didn't know him. The latter part irritated and angered Klaus to no end. How could one live in _his_ city and not know _him_? He was the _King_!

Before a stunned Klaus could answer they were interrupted by another unfamiliar scent.

"Caught you, gorgeous" this person said and Klaus could see how the girl's mouth shrunk to a pout and her forehead wrinkled.

"_Hey,_ that is not fair," the girl said to the considerably older Vampire. Klaus watched their exchange curiously and little irately as he waited for them to acknowledge his presence and, well, bow down. "I had accidentally run into," the girl gestured towards Klaus, "this man here, and like a good person I was apologizing."

Her companion rolled his eyes. "Doesn't matter, darling," the man said as he moved to face Klaus who hadn't moved in quite a while, "Rules are rules. Well, what do we have here?"

Klaus could see the man recognizing the vampire in Klaus but his instincts were struggling to identify the wolf in him. Klaus smirked. "Niklaus Mikaelson," Klaus said extending his hand, his trademark smirk in place. The girl's eyebrows furrowed. "Vampire?" She whispered, her eyes widening with awe and fear. The older vampire came to stand between the girl and Klaus. Klaus raised an eyebrow and smirked at the protective gesture. The dark haired vampire felt threatened. Good.

"You're the _King_," the vampire sneered. So the man knew him. The scorn in his voice irked Klaus.

"I am," Klaus said with a menacing smile. "Niklaus Mikaelson, at your service," No, not really, Klaus added mentally. Well, _maybe_, for the girl. "How is it that you lovely people –"Klaus winked at the girl who seemed unmoved surprisingly, "have found your way into my city and we haven't been introduced yet?"

"We have a permit," the dark haired man replied curtly. "You were absent from _court, _so we sought an audience with Marcel."

"Ah," Klaus said nodding. _Of course,_ Klaus thought. "How unfortunate," Klaus said with a seemingly pleasant smile directed at the girl.

"Yes, it isn't," the older vampire replied quite drily. "Well, as lovely as this chat has been, we have things to do. Games to finish," the man said whisking the girl away from Klaus before he could inquire further. Klaus wanted to chase them down and punish them for their impudence but he allowed them this one last reprieve. He had things to tend to at the moment.

Later, he sent out his soldiers to comb through the French Quarter and report to him of any new vampires found in the Quarter – a dark haired vampire and a blonde one. Klaus was more than pleasantly surprised to be informed of a certain blonde vampire who had been found employed in Rousseau's. Things were going to get interesting.

So as he walked into Rousseau's he couldn't help the smile that came over his face as he approached her.

"_What_ are you doing here?" She said, her hands on her hips, eyes sparkling with fury. Klaus couldn't help smirk proudly. "Are you _following_ me?"

"It's my kingdom, love, I can be wherever I want," Klaus said as he leaned back in his chair and assessed her coolly. She shrugged and went back to bussing tables. Klaus was irritated with the lack of response on her part. She should _at least_ be intrigued enough about him to want to _speak_ to him. He _was_ the King! But it seemed like the blonde had no intention of interacting with him so Klaus took it on himself to push for it again.

"I see your boyfriend –"Klaus began but was interrupted by her.

"_Companion_," she corrected him with a roll of her eyes.

"– is not with you?"Klaus asked feeling glad that her companion had not been her boyfriend.

"He –," she began as she collected the some plates and put it in her tray, "left. I suggest you do the same," she said walking towards the kitchen. He followed her, nodding at Camille in greeting as she did the same.

"You can't come in here, its staff only," she said, seeming considerably irritated. Klaus was _not_ used to the ladies getting irritated by his presence. Well, not the ones he was interested in for sexual gratification.

"_Again_," Klaus said sighing exasperatedly, "I'm the _King."_ Why didn't she understand what a big deal he was?

"Okay, _King_," she said as she took out plates of food from the bustling kitchen and went to serve it to a family of four with a smile. He didn't know how she did it – smile like that. Like she had nothing to lose. And a smile to be wasted on a pathetic scenic family, Klaus detested it.

"I never did catch your name," Klaus said as he stepped in front of the girl to get her attention. She looked him in the eye and smirked, "That's because I never gave it to you."

Klaus rolled his eyes but couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. "Now, I'm busy, as you see. State your purpose and leave," the girl said as she pushed open the door with her back and went into the kitchens again.

"Come to dinner with me," Klaus said, catching her by her upper arms so she takes a moment and breathes, takes a moment and looks at him – takes a moment and understands what he's just offered. A smile tugs at the edges of Klaus's mouth ready to come forth when it withers upon hearing the girl's response.

_"__No_," she says softly but firmly.

His mouth hardens. "Why not?" he almost barks, Caroline flinched and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, apart from_ that very rude _display of behaviour, also the fact that I don't know you and more importantly," she walked up to him, making sure they were eye-to-eye, "I don't _want_ to."

Klaus raised an eyebrow. He didn't do very well with rejection but he was a gentleman and gentlemen did not coerce ladies into courting them. They cajoled.

"It seems we have gotten off the wrong foot –," Klaus said trying to make amends but the girl was having none of it.

"We got on the foot you seem to _love_ putting in your mouth," she said as she cleaned a table. Klaus couldn't help but smile. That was a nice way to put what he had done. He opened his mouth to say something but she beat him to it with a sigh.

"Listen," she said, her forehead compressing into folds, "I'm busy right now. I don't have time for chit-chat. So could you please leave me alone?"

She'd asked it so politely and so genuinely that Klaus felt something inside him lurch. He was _hurt_, he realized, by this girl's desperate need to get away from him. Even those he hadn't hurt didn't _want_ to spend time with him.

He nodded and tried not to let the girl know how much her request had hurt him, "of course," he said and made his way outside.

Caroline felt a pang of guilt go through her at the man's defeated face but she knew there was nothing to be done. She was glad he had left. Caroline didn't have any more thoughts to spare on the strange man who called himself King for she had work to do.

* * *

They don't see each other until after an entire month when Klaus chances upon her again – accidentally.

He finds her admiring one of his paintings from outside of the shop he'd set up which sold some of his paintings anonymously while others with his signature. She's glaring at one of his anonymous ones. It was a painting of the city of New Orleans overlooked by a wolf. It's considerably dark and Klaus can feel the anger emanating from the painting.

"Hello," he murmurs at the sight of her. She jumps at his proximity. She always thinks he's out to hurt her. He finds it curious. Suspicious.

"Why are you always so skittish at the sight of me?" he asks, allowing a menacing smile to take over his face. "Have you been _bad_?" his voice drops to a husky whisper and Caroline fights to keep the blush off her face.

"_No_," she forces out realizing the real threat lurking beneath his ostentatious flirtations, "I've been told, however, to be wary of you, by more than one person and I intend to take that advice."

"Well, that was not a very nice piece of information to be relayed to you," Klaus said with a mock-frown on his face.

"But accurate?" she asks, cocking her head to the side. Klaus doesn't answer. He looks at what she'd been gazing at for such a long time.

"Do you like art?" Klaus asks. She glares at him, perhaps thinking him to be following her (?). The glare loses its edge slowly when she gives a curt nod.

"I don't know much about it...," she relents. "I was just exploring the city and came upon this."

He nods understandably.

"What do you think about this?" he asks, clutching his hands behind his back, feeling a little nervous.

"It's like a bruise," she answers immediately. He cocks his head to the side as he regards her.

"Bruise?"

She blushes as she purses her lips. "Well, the colours," she nods at the angry cluster of blistered blue, black and red on the canvas. "It looks like a giant bruise."

"I don't know what the wolf is for, though," she muses and it is almost as if they are friends. The way she doesn't shy away from him, the way her body leans into his' as she tries to understand the meaning of the painting. "Well, wolves always have seen to be a cliché to depict loneliness. I guess it's the same here. Oh, also, wolves are considered sexy – teen wolf, and all," she shrugs.

Klaus lets out a bark of laughter at her last remark. "That's – that's one way to put it, I guess," he says trying to remember the last time had laughed like this. She blushes and he cannot help but think it to be..._adorable._

"So, what are _you_ doing here?" she asks almost accusatorily.

"It's nice to see you too, love," Klaus said smirking, "And, to answer your quite ineffable question, believe it or not, I sell my work here. Just came to see how everything was working out," he pushes through the door and walks in. "Fancy running into you though," he calls out. Curiously, she follows him inside. Anna, the manager greets them.

"Really?" she asks, looking, dare he say – impressed?

"The sales are great," Anna began with a smile but Klaus cut her off, "We can discuss business later, Anna. I'm entertaining a friend at the moment."

She nodded understandably as she looked at Caroline appraisingly before retiring into a room adjacent to the door, her office.

"_Friend_, huh?" Caroline said looking around the shop warily. "Bit early for that word to apply to us, don't you think?"

"Forgive me, love, what would you have me call you?"

"_Caroline_," she said sharply, disliking his use of endearments. They were _not_ friends. "And we're _not_ friends...we're nothing."

Klaus ignored her jibe as he cheerfully looked around the shop. Nothing could dim his high spirits.

"Well, which ones are yours?" Caroline asked examining each closely.

"Which ones do _you_ reckon?"

"I don't know...I would have to know you to guess," Caroline said quietly but effectively breaking any illusions of friendship or intimacy Klaus was entertaining in his head. He tried not to let her see how much her comment had hurt him.

"I don't know if this one's yours but I like this one," Caroline said nodding at a painting. It wasn't his.

"Enzo took me to Rome once," she said softly. Klaus raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"My...companion," she explained. _Oh_, Klaus thought and wondered why she looked so sad at his mention. "It was full of art, and culture."

"But?"

She smiled in a soft sad kind of a way. "We couldn't stay long enough to see anything. We just accidentally saw the Colosseum...we were in a hurry, actually. Oh, well," she said snapping out of her stupor, as if she had just realized she had confided in someone and it had been _Klaus Mikaelson_, "I should – I should get going," she said with an awkward smile as she made her way to the door.

"Of course, I'll see you around, Caroline," he calls out but she's already lost to the wind.

* * *

Marcel promised him it would be a night to remember as he takes him to Rousseau's. Klaus didn't understand why but everything made sense when he saw Caroline get up on the stage to perform. It was the first time that he heard her sing and it seemed to him that a voice like that could make the world better somehow. Her voice was the sweetest thing and he wanted to possess and revere. She hadn't spotted him yet and doesn't until her performance is over. When he greeted her, it was the first time she hadn't flinched or cringed. She smiled a small hesitant smile.

"That was quite lovely, love," he said as he approached her.

"Thank you," she said offering him a polite smile and moving away from him. She seemed determined to avoid him.

The whole night she had evaded him like a moth running away from light. And that was the thing: moths couldn't run away from light. It was not in their nature to. It was quite comical in the way she tried to escape him, only to be drawn back to him again, and again, and again through people trying to introduce them, to people talking about them.

"Are you done running or can I expect to see you flitting around the place for another half hour?" Klaus asked with an amused smile. Caroline blushed.

"I wasn't –," she began but Klaus waved her off.

"No need to lie now, love."

"Caroline," someone – _Camille,_ interrupted them, "are you leaving for home?"

Klaus had never really liked Camille. She was annoying and interfering. She waved her psychology degree as a pathetic weapon to try and 'unlock' the mysteries inside people. Klaus was sick of her and if it wasn't for the fact that she was Marcel's girl, he would've snapped the annoying creature's neck and be done with it. And here she was again interrupting the little time with Caroline he had managed to acquire with great difficulty and patience. Damn, he hated her.

"Uh, yes, I am," Caroline glanced at Klaus before replying. She nervously tucking a strand of stray hair behind her ear and Klaus marveled at the smallness of her ears. He had to go home and draw them, he decided.

"Oh, okay, I'll see you tomorrow then. I'll ask Sophie to lock the place up before she leaves," Camille said as she left.

"Would you like me to drive you home?" he asked, putting on his most innocent face.

"I was going to walk," Caroline said.

"Caroline," Klaus called out one last time, "would you mind if I walked with you?"

This was different and they both knew it. He was letting her decide. She chewed on her bottom lip for an entire half a minute and Klaus hadn't felt the passage of time as strongly ever except for in this moment.

"Sure, let me just grab my stuff," she said going into the staff room to get her bag. Klaus smiled to himself. _Perhaps, all was not lost._

Fifteen minutes later they found themselves walking down the streets of New Orleans with Caroline wondering how Klaus knew where she lived.

"You know where I live?" Caroline raised an eyebrow when Klaus took it upon himself to lead Caroline to her home.

"I know where everyone lives," he shrugged. Well, that didn't make him seem _that_ creepy anymore. He wasn't creepy only with her – he was just creepy in general. The thought somehow disturbed and comforted Caroline.

"So, how old _are you_?" Caroline asked with an eyebrow raised and her eyes sparkling with incredulity. Klaus shrugged self-consciously.

"Time is but a human construct," Klaus said instead as he look at the street bustling with musicians and tourists.

"That old, huh?" Caroline said nodding. Klaus rolled his eyes but refused to answer.

"So creepy," Caroline muttered.

"What is?"

"_This_," she gestured to the space between them. "Us. If you weren't a vampire, if _we_ weren't vampires – this could be construed as pedophilia, you know," Caroline said, her forehead wrinkling. Klaus face twitched.

"_What?"_

"Well, I'm _twenty three_," Caroline explained, her hands drawing things out of the air, "and you're like, I don't know, a bazillion years old with the way you're acting so self-conscious. Are you a paedophile or something?"

Klaus's eyes widened and he took a step back from Caroline. "N-_No_," he sputtered furiously. Caroline burst into laughter.

"I was just kidding," she said between laughter. "You should've seen your face though. The way it was switching between purple and red – I thought you were going to explode."

"Klaus," she said suddenly turning to him with a serious expression. "Why are you doing all this?" she sounded tired. "What do you – what do you want from me?"

Klaus was taken aback by her directness, by the exhaustion in her posture. "I –," he began but failed to complete it because he didn't know what he wanted from her.

"Whatever you think I can give you – I can't," she said wrapping her arms across her chest protectively. "Your attention is suspicious."

Klaus smirked. "I fancy you. Is that so hard for you to believe?"

"_Yes_!" she said, her eyes wide and posture defensive.

"Why? You're strong, you're beautiful and you're full of light."

Klaus waited with bated breath as he let Caroline process what he had just said. Her eyes widened and her eyebrows rose in astonishment. "I –," she seemed to be at a loss for words.

"I don't get to meet people like you, Caroline," Klaus said simply as he started walking ahead.

"I – I saw you," she said hesitantly, "a fortnight ago in the Pier of Punishment."

"Oh," Klaus said, not knowing what else to say. He hadn't seen her.

"I saw what you did to the witch who broke your _law_," she spat, "You killed her family right in front of her before killing her too."

"How could you do that?"

Klaus couldn't understand what had offended _her_ so much. "She broke my law," Klaus said simply.

"Nobody cares about your stupid laws, Klaus," Caroline said bitterly through gritted teeth, "you took lives without remorse, without worrying about consequence."

"I am the King, love. What consequence am I supposed to fear? What _God_?" he sneered, unwilling to take her crass judgement on his person.

"I don't understand you," she murmured. "You _disgust_ me," she said as she walked off. "You have no respect for human life, so you can do us both a favour by leaving me alone."

He grabbed her by her upper arm and shoved her against the wall. "You might want to watch your tongue, love," Klaus hissed angrily, "you wouldn't want an up-close and personal experience of the punishment, now would you?"

Caroline pushed him away angrily. "You're _despicable._ You know what? I was beginning to delude myself into thinking that you're actually not that bad. Thank you for reminding me what an asshole you are!" she fumed.

"Of my stay in New Orleans I've seen the kind of power hungry psycho you are! You keep everybody on a tight leash and if it weren't for Marcel, you wouldn't be king of anything! He realizes coercion is not the answer to forge relationships and command loyalty. You don't. You're not the real king," she says before running off into nothingness.

Klaus chased her down and pressed her against the wall. "Take your words _back_," he growled.

"_Never,"_ she hissed. The veins underneath her face appearing and Klaus resisted the urge to bite her and then kiss her.

"Look at _you_! You're proving everything I said correct! Now, let me go," she struggled against his hold.

"Is this what you were talking about? It is in our nature, is it not? How dare you judge me, when you feed from the vein every day bleeding humans dry?

"I do _not_ bleed any human dry!" Caroline huffed managing to get out of Klaus's hold. He looked surprised.

"You don't drink from the vein?"

"_No_," she bit out angrily.

"Blood bags?" he whispered, looking disgusted and taken aback. Klaus took a step back to look at her.

Who _was_ she? A vampire who didn't drink from the vein, someone who was kind and compassionate and so full of light – who was she? It was in this moment that Klaus realized Caroline was not the moth, he was. She was the light and no matter how much he wanted to escape it, he would always find himself with her.

"You're so strange and different, I can't understand you," he muttered as he moved away from her further. Caroline slumped against the wall surprised by his bipolar self.

"You remind me of a friend I used to have," Klaus said softly looking at her. "He used to be a great vampire, and a great companion. He used to rip villages and towns and cities apart. But apparently, the greatness was a product of his emotions turned off. He was called The Ripper. But then circumstance forced him to switch his humanity back on and all the fun went out of him. He was so kind and compassionate and lived on a _bunny diet,_" Klaus spat the last part.

Caroline had turned as white as a sheet her face frozen in horror as she realized Klaus was talking about Stefan.

"You know him?" Klaus asked, his eyes snapping hers'. Caroline realized she had said the name allowed. Stefan had always talked about a dark period in his life when he had gone down the bender and destroyed cities. He was called The Ripper. But he never spoke of having a friend, and definitely not a friend like Klaus.

"I - I might have heard of him," her voice shook and Caroline hated herself for it. She didn't want Klaus to know she knew about Stefan. Somehow her instincts told her Stefan was better off alone. Klaus gazed at her curiously.

"Where did you say you came from, Caroline?"

"I didn't."

"I think we both need to have that dinner sooner than later, don't you think?" he smirked, she gulped.

* * *

**A/N- **Did ANYBODY see that ending like that? Because I sure as hell didn't, I swear I have no fucking idea as to where I'm going with this story. Hopefully it's going to be a short one. HOPEFULLY. Initially I wanted it to be a TWO part thing, and then I THOUGHT let's make it A THREE part thing and now I don't know where the hell I'm going with this. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPTER, THOUGH?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N – Please read this! This is **important. **The storyline is not at all canon but it is not completely divorced from it either. _It will all make sense eventually_ (quoting Klaus here). Don't worry. I'll write more about the mystic falls part in Caroline's life. Please do go to my tumblr if you have any questions. It's **leeleepupu** at tumblr dot com .

Also going to be making sure to apply the Bechdel test and not have a boy-centric narrative. Might sound silly and pointless when writing romantic fiction, where we're specially focusing on ships, but I don't understand why or how it would make a ship better if our OTP doesn't function on its own properly before coming together, i.e., they should have a personality of their own.

**Chapter 2**

She hated it. This was supposed to be her time but Klaus was eager to take her back to everything she had been run away from. She was supposed to be creating a new life for herself, not getting dragged back to her old life. She couldn't understand how or why she had ended up here, in front of Klaus. She couldn't understand how she had mistaken him to be nice. Or anything like it. How could she have thought that the monster staring her down could hold anything human in him?

But,he had looked so human in the art shop. The caramel coloured light in the shop against his skin, skimming through the paintings had created an illusion of intimacy and friendship that Caroline couldn't help but be lulled into its warmth, lulled into a sleepy haze of trust where she allowed Klaus a glimpse into her thoughts. She shouldn't have told him about her trip to Rome with Enzo. She shouldn't have bought into the facade and added to it. Everything was going to fall apart now. Klaus was going to figure everything out. Right when Caroline was so sure she had buried everything properly.

"I'm not going _anywhere_ with you," Caroline said stomping her foot angrily. Klaus shot her a glare.

"This is _not_ a negotiation," he hissed.

"Whatever you want to know about Stefan, I'll tell you right here so we can be done with it and I can move on with my life."

"The prospect of dinner with me repulses you so much?" Klaus asked, his voice mocking but Caroline could trust a hint of hurt to be making its presence known in it.

She regarded him shrewdly before answering, "_And_ the fact that you're using this to coerce me into spending time with you."

She could see the way Klaus clenched and unclenched his jaw. "Well, then, sweetheart," his eyes bore into hers and Caroline felt nervous, "Tell me everything you know about Stefan Salvatore."

"Stefan is my friend from back home – Mystic Falls, Virginia. We used to go to school together. He helped me when I turned. His brother is Damon Salvatore and they were born in –,"Klaus interrupted her. His compulsion had been taken too much of a literal turn. "What was he doing in Mystic Falls and tell me more about Damon Salvatore."

"Stefan was looking for a fresh start in Mystic Falls. Damon Salvatore is his brother who later joined him there."

"Are they still in Mystic Falls?"

"No, they left for Alaska a year before I left the town."

Klaus wanted to ask her why she left her hometown but he felt that would be crossing far too many lines for one night. He was, however, very satisfied with knowing what Stefan Salvatore had been up to. The last time they had met was in 1920s when Stefan had stumbled into his town looking for fun and ended up plotting against Klaus. He had successfully evaded Klaus all these years...perhaps it was time to pay him a visit. The knowledge of Stefan having an elder brother made Klaus think of many ways the situation could be turned into his favor.

Caroline glared at him disbelievingly. "What was that?" she asked, her eyes widening in anger and horror. "Why did I tell you all that even though I didn't want to – how did you _compel_ me?"

Klaus smirked, reveling in the power of having a certain hold which the little vampire was helpless in the face of. "It's a very useful advantage every Original possesses, the gift of compelling other vampires," he sneered. It felt good to remind the baby vampire who was in charge. He feared he had given her the wrong impression that they were on equal footing. She needed to realize that he was _King_ for a reason. And that reason was that he was a fearsome creature.

"Do you see now, love? How wrong you were? How _powerful_ I am?"

instead of fear, he saw anger and indignation rising in the vampire, "Are you delusional? You _just_ proved me right again."

"You didn't ask nicely. You coerced and compelled. You tried to bend me and when I refused to – you decide to break me," She had a disgusted smile on her face. "You're so –," she stopped herself before she could complete her sentence. "You know what? You're not even worth the amount of calories I burn talking to you."

She blurred into the direction of her house, slamming the door shut behind her with a huge bang that reverberated through the streets. Klaus stood there, frozen. He was surprised by Caroline's words. He was surprised by her fearless disposition. He could feel her words ringing through him and along with the glimmer of anger, they also, surprisingly, brought the thought her words did hold a shard of accuracy to them.

* * *

Caroline waited on the other side of the door to see if Klaus would make an appearance but after a half hour she convinced herself that Klaus had left for the better. She heaved a sigh and took out her burner cell phone and dialed Stefan's number as she went into the bathroom. You could never be sure that the walls didn't have ears.

"Stefan. You need to get out of Mystic Falls, ASAP. I've run into your old friend, Klaus and I think he wants to have more than a chat with you."

"Caroline," Stefan breathed. "What? How – what? What's –?"

"Stefan," Caroline said firmly. "Run. Now. Go to some other continent or country, if you need to. Take Damon and don't tell anyone where you're headed to." She didn't want to give him any suggestions that might expose her if Klaus tried to compel her when she wasn't on vervain.

"Okay. When can I talk to you again?" Stefan asked, his voice straining. She could hear the worry in his voice. They were talking after five years, after all. He seemed to have more than missed her.

"I'll call you in a fortnight. I sure as hell hope you've hauled your ass to someplace else by that time."

She hung up and took a deep breath before walking into the kitchen and scooping out some vervain leaves with the help of pincers. She winced before she put some of them in her mouth and forced herself to swallow. She thanked her lucky stars that she had paid heed to Enzo's warnings and did everything he had asked her to, to make sure she was protected against all influences. Enzo especially knew of her fear of being compelled and Klaus couldn't pose a bigger threat.

When Klaus had first looked at her and tried to compel her, she couldn't understand why he expected her to relay all information to him. But then she had observed how his pupils had dilated and she knew he was trying to compel her. So she had acted her part and lied through her teeth, all the while cursing herself for not leaving this cursed town with Enzo.

But _no_, she couldn't leave this place now. Not without rousing suspicion and inciting Klaus to come after her. Klaus was still a mystery. A very dangerous capricious mystery. He was charming one minute and threatening another; he was considerate one minute and intolerable the next. He was unfathomable and Caroline had no patience to fathom him. She wanted to make a home in New Orleans, experience the city, study, live a little, have fun and that was that. She didn't want to get involved with any _King._ She couldn't understand his strange infatuation with her. She knew tonight was just the beginning.

She sighed as she removed her shoes and sat on the sofa. She had been so excited for Karaoke Saturdays and _college_. Well, that was that. She switched on the TV and watched until she fell asleep.

* * *

Klaus Mikaelson had built his empire from the dust. He had been ruling New Orleans for the past two and a half centuries – having successfully killed his father a century ago. He knew an essential part of his Kingdom was being weaned off of him while he and his family were engaged in matters of much more importance. But when he was informed its transparency by a baby vampire who was not only new to the world, but also to his city, he realized the damage was graver than he had realized.

Like Caroline had said, the Kingdom was Klaus's only in name for most of the subjects owed their allegiance to Marcel. While Klaus conducted inquiries, he sent a few of his men to Mystic Falls, Virginia, to see if his friend Stefan could be convinced to join him here for some time. It had been quite some time since he had last seen Stefan. The matter of Katerina Petrova and Stefan's suspected hand in helping her escape had to be resolved. While Klaus had been pretending to woo Katerina Petrova, apparently Stefan had been pretending to woo Rebekah. He had played quite an impressive hand. He had to be repaid for all the trouble he'd caused, after all.

If it hadn't been for the fact that Klaus had managed to successfully recapture the Petrova doppelganger before she could be turned into a vampire and ruin all of his plans, Stefan wouldn't have been able to escape. Over the years the latter managed to remain elusive. Other matters had occupied Klaus's time and he found himself forgetting about the traitor. He was more than surprised when this chance fate with the baby vampire brought him to his attention again. He was not going to let it go so easily.

And Klaus was exceedingly curious regarding the nature of relationship shared by Stefan and Caroline. He knew he would find out everything in due time. There was nothing ever that could remain hidden from him eternally; for had he not also managed to capture the elusive Katerina Petrova and deliver her her rightful sentence? While his henchmen took care of the Salvatore business, Klaus set out to look into his administration.

When Klaus went to inquire into many of his businesses, he was unsurprised to find that many of "_his"_ men found themselves not answerable to him but to Marcel. They recognized Klaus and feared him – something which Klaus revelled in – but they did not identify with him, they did not seem to _want_ to be in his presence for more than necessary. But what Klaus found more than curious was that there were people in the human faction who were eating more than he would've liked.

"Marcel," he said tersely into the phone, "I need to speak with you. Meet me in a half hour at my house." Klaus hung up and walked into Agnes the Witch's shop. He needed to ensure his alliance with the witches was strong as ever."What are _you_ doing here? We're done with this month's business. Ask Marcel."

Klaus bit back a growl of irritation. He realized how disconnected he was to his people. Marcel was the face of authority everybody here recognized, not him. They owed their allegiance to him directly and indirectly to Klaus. Klaus realized he had to rectify the situation.

"Well," Klaus said with a menacing smile, "it seems that we have to rectify the situation, now don't we?"

* * *

He drew them imperfectly and Klaus wasn't used to imperfections. He could get her whole face right but not her ears. Although they seemed like perfectly normal ears, they were never _her _ears and he was troubled and angry – and so very annoyed.

"Nik, are you drawing _ears_?" Rebekah shrieked in surprise and mockery. Elijah looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow quaintly, too curious to reprimand Rebekah for her inquisitiveness.

Klaus snapped his sketchbook shut. "I fail to see how it is any of your business."

Rebekah and Elijah were back from their vacation in Vienna and the former did not lose a moment to live up to her reputation of notoriety. She had immediately started to refurnish the house because some of it was too Old World for her. _These were modern times after all_, she had said, _there's no point in clinging on to the past so desperately_, she had said. Rebekah smiled an evil Cheshire grin as she realized the opportunities that had just opened up because of Klaus's obsession.

"What's up, my man?" Marcel asked as he walked in. Rebekah stiffened as Marcel entered. The memory of her old lover was not pleasant. After the chaotic murder of their father by Niklaus in the 1920s, Rebekah and Marcel realized things between them could never be the same. They had broken up but there was a lot of love lost between them. She _loathed_ the fact that Marcel was dating the local bartender even though she didn't love him like before and didn't believe she ever could.

"Hey Rebekah," Marcel greeted her with an easy smile. Rebekah nodded and flit outside the room while Klaus watched the awkward exchange with glee. He did love getting off on his sister's embarrassment.

"Marcel," Klaus said, smiling as he looked at his protégé. "Sit down," he kept his sketchbook aside and gestured to the empty space on the sofa across from him.

Marcel sat down and even with the smile on his face Klaus could smell the wariness coming off of him.

"So, what is all of this about? Is everything okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" Klaus asked, cocking his head to the side, reading his protégé's body language carefully.

"Well, I heard you were making rounds in the city, meeting the witches, the other vampires, the humans," Marcel said, worry evident in his face. _Ah, so he had informants, did he? Loyal informants too,_ Klaus noted with envy. But he smiled.

"Just checking. Realized I hadn't been around in quite some time. With all of that stuff going around with the witch Davina running away from the harvest ritual and causing havoc to the wolves in the Bayou becoming restless – I had realized I hadn't really been around the city and interacted with my subjects," he made sure to emphasize on the possessive nouns, to show Marcel that he could not be caught off guard – did not _want_ to be caught off guard.

"Well, I have a task for you," Klaus said, smiling slightly. "I need you to go to the Gemini coven and find out if they have anything to help Davina."

Klaus needed to get Marcel out of town. Klaus knew he cared deeply for the Davina girl and would do his best to help her out. Marcel could see that there were reasons why Klaus was so eager to get him out of town but he could do nothing other than to obey his king. Davina needed help, after all. Soon the power inside her would threaten to engulf her, and with her distrust in the Harvest ritual, she refused to be sacrificed at the belief that she'd be brought back to life. This was her only chance at looking for an alternative. She had run away from the ritual and sought refuge under his wing. He had adopted her as his daughter and could not allow anything to happen to her. He knew he had to look up this lead.

Marcel nodded, convinced that this opportunity must not be lost and said, "I'll leave by tonight."

* * *

She didn't hear from Klaus for a week. That was... good news. But she was always on her guard. She could not just up and leave. That would rouse more suspicion. It was only in the second week, during her lunch break, that Klaus caught up with her.

"Caroline," he said in greeting. Caroline pursed her lips and eyed him warily. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Actually, you kind of are," Caroline snapped. She had just sat down to have lunch, after all. Klaus gave her a mean look but did not retaliate.

"Oh, hey, Klaus," Camille said from behind Caroline.

Caroline secretly mused if Camille liked Klaus. Camille would always be smiling widely and creepily whenever Klaus was around. She would have an eager to please look on her face which she could barely conceal. And in Klaus's absence she would go on about the _theories_ she had regarding him.

It was perplexing as to why Camille would Klaus despite knowing how terrible he was, especially when she claimed to be a psychology Major. She was stupid as fuck, Caroline deduced. But, of course, she kept her thoughts to herself.

Klaus nodded at Camille and turned to Caroline. "May I have a word?"

"No, you may not," Caroline said turning to leave when she heard Klaus call out from behind her, "It's regarding our dear friend."

That made her halt in her steps. "What?" she whispered. Hadn't Stefan run when she'd told him to?

"Yes," Klaus said, with a dimpled smile. Ugh, how she loathed him.

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Make this fast. I want nothing to do with you – after you compelled me so disgustingly."

"No need to take it personally, love," Klaus began but stopped at the look of loathing Caroline shot him.

"Very well, let's take this somewhere else, shall we?" he gestured to Camille who was watching them interestedly. She blushed and looked away when she realized she had been caught eavesdropping. Caroline hesitated but nodded.

"_Fine," _she said, "I know a place. Follow me."

Klaus raised an eyebrow at her stern annoyed tone but he found himself strangely enjoying it immensely. "After you, love," he said, holding the door for her. She glared at him before exiting Rousseau's. They walked for a good fifteen minutes before Caroline took him into a narrow lane sporting a tiny cafe. Klaus had been here twice in his time here and he was quite surprised to see that Caroline had chanced upon it too. It was not easy to find.

She ignored Klaus when he pulled a chair for her to sit. She pulled out her own chair and sat waiting for Klaus to overcome the shock and take a seat himself. He looked immensely amused.

"Well?" Caroline prompted when Klaus seemed to be more interested in looking at the menu than getting to the point.

"The chicken pasta here is delicious," Klaus commented. Caroline gave him a pointed look.

"Yes, well, I see you are not one for chit-chat," Klaus raised his eyebrows in mock-regret, "well, then, where is your friend Stefan? He's not in Alaska. I sent my men to Mystic Falls and he's not there, either. Did you warn him?" His eyes bore into Caroline's.

"No," she replied mechanically. Klaus gave her a peculiar look for a second before he nodded, strangely quiet. The quiet made Caroline nervous.

"Why do you need Stefan anyway?" she asked.

"I have some unfinished business with him," he said.

"Which is what?"

Klaus smirked. "Now why would I tell _you_ that?"

Caroline scoffed and stabbed her pastry. "What am I even doing here?" she muttered to herself softly. Klaus caught it, of course. He also caught the anger and the...sadness in her voice. Something inside him clenched. He didn't like the fact that the time spent with Caroline was spent with her bemoaning it.

"I want you to leave Stefan alone," Caroline said sharply. Instead of looking put-off, Klaus smiled, as if anticipating the response. Caroline warily regarded the change in his demeanour.

"I have a proposition for you," Klaus said, the smile still on his face. It made him look odd, Caroline thought. It made him look...human. She frowned and cocked her head to the side as she glared at him, "what exactly do you propose?"

"In exchange for a little something – I am willing to allow Stefan an opportunity to evade my scrutiny."

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "And w_hat _is that exactly?" She asked, warily. Klaus only smirked in response.

* * *

Rebekah knew her brother was infatuated with some girl but she didn't know his obsession ran so deep. This was exactly what she needed. Leverage. For when she told her brother of her plans. She walked into Rousseau's and smirked as she spotted the blonde.

"Hey, Rebekah," Camille said, with a smile. Rebekah, could, however, spot the wariness in her gaze. The human was right to be wary of Rebekah. She was damn annoying and Rebekah's tolerance levels were really low. She didn't care whose girl she was. Actually, she did. Which sort of made it worse for Camille.

"Hello, Camille," Rebekah said without a smile. Life was too long for pretence, Rebekah had decided a long time ago, especially if it wasn't going to prove beneficial in the near future.

"What are you doing here?" Camille asked, and rather rudely too Rebekah thought, annoyed. Rebekah had been looking past her, trying to understand the mechanics of this one Caroline Forbes, to understand what made her so alluring to her brother, when her attention was constantly snatched away by this despicable human.

"What did you say to me?" Rebekah asked, unamused, as she let her fangs drop. She could hear Camille's heart beating terribly fast. Good, Rebekah thought, the human was remembering her place. Camille remained silent as Rebekah glared at her.

"That's better," Rebekah said, sitting down, leaning against the cushioned seat, enjoying Camille's defeated posture. She knew the reason the human hated her was because she had a thing for her brother, which Rebekah never refused to point out and mock her for.

Rebekah couldn't understand how on earth Marcel didn't see it. Nik, of course, chose to ignore it. Even Rebekah couldn't fault him for that. _She_ wouldn't have wanted to confront an uncomfortable fact as that. What Rebekah couldn't understand most of all, was, how Camille liked Nik at all. He had been nothing short of terrible in her treatment of her and even then the girl clung on to her brother pathetically. It was quite sad, really.

When Marcel walked in ten minutes later, Rebekah knew it was because Camille had alerted him to her presence. Perhaps she had thought, as self-centred and deluded as she was, that Rebekah's presence had to do something with her. Camille was always under the illusion that the reason why Rebekah disliked her was because of her relationship with Marcel, but the real reason was, however, different.

Rebekah disliked Camille because the girl was a shallow phony shell of a sassy strong woman. She would use her education to forcefully diagnose people – which Rebekah considered very unprofessional and mostly, just damn annoying. She thought she held some power in the city because of her relationship with Marcel, especially when Marcel had quite ceremoniously given the girl _Rousseau's_ as a gift, when the witch who previously owned it was killed for breaking the laws of the land.

"My God, that girl is dreadful," Rebekah said with exaggerated exasperation, looking at Camille who was making out with Marcel, when Nik's girl, Caroline, came to man the bar. Caroline snorted involuntarily but recovered, pasting an indifferent expression on her face.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked politely. Oh it was too late for the pretence now, Rebekah had seen that Caroline too, harboured displeasure in her heart for Camille.

"I'll have a scotch, please," Rebekah said, putting on her most charming smile. "So, are you new? This is the first time I've seen you here," Rebekah said, trying to keep her voice light. The girl nodded pleasantly as she poured Rebekah a glass of scotch. Rebekah took this moment to scrutinize her. She was good looking, Rebekah decided, but nothing out of the ordinary. Her countenance, too, seemed pleasant enough but nothing extraordinary. Rebekah wondered what it was about this girl that had caught her brother's eye.

"Just moved here three months ago," the girl said. Before Rebekah could ask her anything else another customer came in snatching her attention. The girl returned fifteen minutes later.

"Can I get you anything more?" she asked.

"Some fries, please," Rebekah said promptly. "So, how do you like the city?" she said quickly before the girl could move away. She needed to be friends with this girl and that required conversation – however dreadful the entire prospect of it seemed to Rebekah. This was an opportunity that could not be done away with.

"I really like it," the girl smiled. "Except for a few things," she muttered under her breath but Rebekah caught it – supernatural hearing and everything. "Are you from here?" the girl asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Kind of," Rebekah replied. She didn't have nearly enough time to narrow down centuries of history for this girl. 'Kind of' had to work for now. "I've lived in this city for most of my life now, though," she said.

"Really?" the girl muttered, her eyes roved over Rebekah curiously. "You're originally from Britain, though?" The girl was referring to her accent, Rebekah realized.

"Yes," Rebekah lied. " I'm Rebekah," she said, holding out her hand.

"I'm Caroline. Nice to meet you," the girl said, smiling, though Rebekah could smell the slight tinge of fear coming off of her. The girl was afraid of her. But why? Rebekah couldn't understand.

"I'm having a party this weekend at my house you should come," Rebekah said, scribbling her address down on a napkin before getting up and taking out money from her purse. The girl, Caroline, gave Rebekah a surprised look. "You'll get to meet new people. Better than the ones you've been exposed to," Rebekah shot a pointed look in the direction of Marcel and Camille, "I promise you'll have fun," she said, earning a smile from the girl.

"Well, alright, I guess," the girl said.

"Good," Rebekah took out a pen and wrote down her address, "see you later, Caroline," she said as she left.

* * *

At five in the evening, after she was done with her shift, Caroline made her way to the address Klaus had given her. She found herself standing in front of a house looking quite similar, in its aesthetics, and geographical location, to the one in _The Conjuring_, and Caroline secretly wondered who it was that she had pissed off to have found herself in this mess.

"Caroline," a voice greeted her as the door opened. Klaus stood there, looking a picture of perfect terror against the terrifying house.

"So creepy," Caroline muttered but made her way to the porch. "Where did you find _this_?"

Klaus only smiled as he let the door open wider for her to enter. "Please," he said, with a slight smirk, as he gestured for her to enter. Caroline rolled her eyes at his formalities but she took him up on his offer and ventured forth. The interior was creepier. It was dark and looked like it had been lying in tatters for quite some time- like, a century or so, no biggie.

"Who died here?" Caroline made a weak attempt at what looked like a joke but it was also a genuine question. It did look like a place where people would die and haunt after their death.

"I'm afraid it's the only safe secluded place for this," Klaus said instead, as he led her into what seemed like a living room. There's irony for you. There was a regal sofa set, and a regal chandelier hanging from the ceiling – everything looked so _rich _but decadent.

"What is _this_, really?" Caroline asked, her eyes taking note of all the exits in the vicinity. She had seen a barn on her way here; it could be used as shelter if some calamity arose. There was also a small tavern, half a mile off. It made for a good temporary hiding place.

"Well, what will you have me do?" Caroline asked, feeling a blush rise to her face. She wondered what it was Klaus would ask her to do. She was ready to slash down anything which was deemed less than appropriate.

Klaus smiled and it was not malicious, it was sweet and..._Shy_, even. "I want you to sit _there_," his hand moved towards her face but Caroline pulled away questioningly. Klaus smiled apologetically for intruding on her personal space and waited for her to sit down.

"Can you just tuck your hair behind your ear?"

Caroline frowned at him confused at his demand but conceded to his wish as she sat down on the chair. When he sat across from her and took out what seemed to be a sketch pad and started vigorously slashing across the paper, Caroline found herself exclaiming, "Are you serious? This is it? You've brought me here to _sketch _me?"

Klaus raised his eyebrow and said, "What were you expecting?"

Some freaky sex thing, if she were to be honest – definitely _not_ something as normal and casual as _this_. "Well, certainly not _this_."

Klaus smiled a menacing smile as if he knew exactly where her thoughts had found themselves. "Well, I assure you, my intentions are pure." His smile suggested otherwise. "And as to answer your other question, I'm not really sketching your face – as much as your ears."

"You're drawing my ears?" Caroline asked, confused.

"Yes, I always seem to be able to get your face right – just, not your ears."

"Okay, firstly, the fact that you draw me so often is – quite frankly, not as flattering as it is downright creepy, _and,_" she said quickly before Klaus could object, "secondly, they're just ears. Draw them any way you like. Nobody would know. I certainly wouldn't."

"I can't do that. Your ears are the most infuriating things I have encountered and I refuse to be defeated."

And here she thought he'd ask her to do something like pose in the nude or bathe in human blood. His request was so...menial and weird for not being weirder. Klaus waited patiently for her to get back into position. She shook her head at his silliness and turned her head.

"I can't believe you're obsessed with my ears. I mean there are a _lot_ of things about me and in me to be obsessed about. Ears, for one, are not something that _I _would consider to be my most attractive feature," she ranted because sitting in silence was going to make her tear her own hair out.

"What _do_ you think is your best feature?" Klaus asked in a monotonous tone. Caroline decided to humour him because she couldn't think of anything else to talk about.

"Well, people tell me my eyes are pretty nice. Oh, and also, Jim Brady, the most popular guy in middle school, once told me in eighth grade that I had the best legs, so there's _that_."

"No, what do you like about yourself," he asked, his voice was insistent but not coercive. Caroline's eyes snapped to his face at his question. His head was bent, working fervently to capture whatever it was that he found in her ears. Caroline bit her lip as she looked away from him quickly. She didn't want him to know how much his question had pinched her – made her think. What _was_ it that she liked about herself?

Her forehead was too broad. Her eyes were nice and everyone did say they really liked that about her – but before everyone she hadn't really found them to be special. Her lips were too thin. Her hands – she'd seen prettier. Her legs – she'd seen longer. Her hair – she'd seen softer and shinier. What did she really like about herself?

"My shoulders," she said with a small laugh. Klaus looked up, an eyebrow raised, waiting for her to continue.

"My friends when we were kids, they'd always sit on either side of me and lean their heads on my shoulders – they said they liked my shoulders. They were round and soft – perfect for leaning one's head."

Klaus's smiled mirrored hers. He hummed pleasantly as he resumed his sketching.

Klaus refrained from saying she had again depended on other people's opinion of her and hadn't really told him what she liked about herself – independent of other people's opinion. He refrained from doing so because he had a feeling she already knew. Judging from her sad smile Caroline more than knew the error in her answer but she was too overwhelmed with the realization that in her twenty three of living, she hadn't really found any part of herself especially attractive or lovable to herself.

"Klaus," she said after a while. He looked up, "yes, love?" She flinched at the endearment. She hated the familiarity of it all. "You know we can never happen, right? _We _will never happen."

She noticed, curious and fascinated, the way the smooth planes of his face folded into angry creases. Before he could retort she said, "you and I are very different people who cherish different values. If I was with someone like you, I would not be me anymore and I wouldn't like that. I've worked really hard to like myself and as you can see, I'm still learning. If I let myself be with someone like you I'd hate myself. So I will never let this happen."

She waited for him to lash out, to throw things or shout, do something destructive. But all he did was, strangely, stare at her before resuming his sketching and Caroline accepted that. She had accepted what seemed to be his silent resignation. Unbeknownst to Caroline, Klaus had no intentions of giving up so soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- VERY IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ THE LAST CHAPTER AGAIN. I realized I had made a lot of mistakes and left things half-ass, so please, please read the last chapter again and then read this chapter.**

I love Klaroline as a ship. It's brilliant. No wonder I write ff on it. But, but, _but_, I also want to ENSURE that everyone does know that this ship IS **PROBLEMATIC**.

I don't want people to think that if a boy is chasing them, _stalking_ them, like Klaus does in the canon and in this fic, the boy harbours good intentions and deserves a romantic reward. I don't want people to get wrong ideas about this ship.

**P.S – **Thank you so much for your reviews. I really enjoy reading them. Special thanks to Patie! I've taken your words into consideration and they've truly helped me make a lot of changes to my plot. Thank you, darling.

**Of Sirens and Songs Chapter 3**

"Caroline," the familiar voice greeted her. She turned to see a very cheerful Klaus smiling at her. "How have you been?"

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "We just met yesterday," she said as she moved around him, cleaning the tables. He only smiled wider. She wondered why he always chose to attack at her in her workplace. Maybe it was because she couldn't run away. Hm. Damn, he was weird.

"And what a night it was," Klaus said, sighing dramatically. Caroline almost snorted in response but stopped short. She didn't want him to think she condoned his actions or his manipulation of her person. She wasn't going to let him think that he could go around toying with her being and she'd eventually 'come around' to developing romantic intentions regarding him.

"Klaus," she said, putting her arms on her hips, "while this faux charming slash stalkerish persona might have worked in the past with some poor misguided girl, might I remind you that our little rendezvous last night was a result of emotional blackmail on your part?"

Klaus's eyes dimmed and his face darkened immediately. And there it was. The real Klaus.

"I think you're forgetting that last night was a show of _mercy_ on my part," he said, his eyes level with hers'. Well, thank God I never depended on it, Caroline thought. His face, however, distorted into anger.

"I wouldn't have expected any less of a _King_ such as you. Don't you have things to do? _Real_ important things? Other than stalking innocent people who're just minding their business?" Klaus flashed a smile as he got up. "Now that you remind me," he said, his arms stretching out to grab hold of a customer and snapping his neck, "I do".

* * *

"What the hell happened here?" Someone – Rebekah, the girl from the other day – asked. Caroline gasped at the intrusion and dropped her mop in shock. She thought she had locked it _and_ put up a CLOSED sign! How could the girl have gotten in? What was more curious was the girl's reaction to the dead people inside the bar. There was no screeching or screaming. There was only a cool silent contemplation. Any other human would've freaked out, Caroline mused. Or was this a common occurrence? Or…

"Wait, are you a vampire?" Caroline asked, shocked. Rebekah's eyes, which were previously employed in surveying the area, moved to focus on Caroline.

"Yes, dummy, why _else_ would I have invited you to my party without knowing you?" She said walking towards Caroline, minding bodies on her way. "Well, what did happen here?"

"Our stupid _King_ happened," Caroline sighed, picking up the mop and dunking it in water before cleaning it. The rest of the staff was human (and hated her for some reason) so only Caroline was left with the duty of cleaning the place while the owners, Camille and Marcel, figured out what happened and why. Caroline groaned internally at the mess she was in. Again.

She saw Rebekah raise an eyebrow. "Nik did this?" Caroline frowned. Nik?

"Who's that?" she asked.

"Never mind that, who did you say did this?"

"Klaus Mikaelson?" Caroline said, still frowning. Hadn't Rebekah said she'd lived here a long time? Did she not know him? "Ah, that ass-bag," Rebekah said, and the frown on Caroline's mouth smoothened. "Yes, him," she said firmly.

"Just went on a rampage, really," Caroline straightened a chair, and bent down to pick up the mop to clean some of the glass. "One minute we're talking, and the next, _ugh_," she groaned, annoyed. "What is wrong with this stupid city?"

Rebekah smirked. Caroline caught it and wondered if all residents of New Orleans had such a menacing smirk. There was scuffling and shouting happening in the kitchen. Rebekah and Caroline exchanged a look. "That Marcel and Camille?" Rebekah asked.

Caroline nodded. "They've been at it since an hour," she looked up suddenly as if she remembered something, "Oh, can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm good," Rebekah said waving her off. "I just came here to remind you about the party. You're still coming right?"

Caroline was suddenly clutched in a wave of tiredness and was about to refuse when the dejected look on Rebekah's face stopped her. "Oh, yes, I am." Rebekah beamed happily and Caroline felt good for not rejecting her. Making friends in this strange city was important. Even though Rebekah was stranger, Caroline felt she really needed some source of comfort and support.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Rebekah asked. Caroline bit her lip and spared a glance towards the kitchen. "I can't –," she began but Rebekah cut her off with a firm, "Oh, come on, Caroline, it seems like you haven't seen the good part of New Orleans yet. Let me show you," Rebekah flashed her a devious smile. "And Camille and Marcel left ten minutes after I walked in," she added. At Caroline's apparent confusion regarding Rebekah's knowledge the latter only tapped her ears. "I pay attention," she said. Caroline nodded, satisfied at her answer and admonishing herself for being off her guard.

"Well?" Rebekah prompted.

Caroline felt herself giving in. It _was_ the truth. She couldn't contest Rebekah's claim. Despite all of her little explorations during the day, Caroline had been scared to explore the city at night. That was the time when most of the vampires came out and she didn't want any trouble. She was already half scared to death of the 'Pier of Punishment' which she thought was a stupid name but nevertheless extremely dangerous.

"Fine," Caroline said annoyed at giving in, "but let me first mop the place clean of the broken plates. _Then_ I'll come with you."

"Ugh, something tells me you were a bore in school," Rebekah remarked as Caroline went to work. "And something tells me that you're just going to sit there and not offer any assistance," Caroline waved a broken glass at her before thrusting it into the garbage bag. Rebekah smirked. "Why, you know me so well, Caroline."

The smirk reminded Caroline of Klaus but she put the thought of him away. She didn't want to think of him. Not after all the chaos he had brought into her life. So for the next half hour Caroline worked diligently to clean the place with Rebekah's covert assistance. It was only when they were leaving that they were interrupted by Camille who looked distraught. Before Caroline could inquire, Camille turned to Rebekah and screamed angrily, "What are you doing here now? Do you want a piece of my livelihood and the humans too?"

Caroline could see Rebekah was getting angry and she quickly came in between the two.

"Now, you're with her too? God, and to think you were innocent," Camille said scathingly as she walked inside. Rebekah scoffed while Caroline stood there, shocked. Camille had never been so rude to her. She couldn't understand her accusation.

"What did she mean?" Caroline asked Rebekah who only shrugged in response. "Camille's crazy," Rebekah said, "don't pay her heed." Caroline was unconvinced but she before she could ask more questions, Rebekah had already hailed a cab and thrust Caroline in it.

They divided up the night into hours, spending each hour in a different place. They went to secret vampire clubs, to human eateries, to _vampire_ eateries (at which Caroline was totally grossed out and demanded out) and even to a vampire jazz band concert. Caroline had always viewed covens of vampires immediately as a threat despite being a vampire. She had been convinced, no, _Klaus_ had her convinced that vampires in the city were only for destruction but here she saw them indulging in entrepreneurial recreational activities – just like her. Maybe this wasn't so bad…

"So, what do you do?" Caroline asked when they'd stopped to sit at one of the benches outside where the jazz concert was happening eating nachos. Rebekah's face twisted into a frown.

"What do I do?"

"Yeah, are you a student or employed somewhere or what?" Caroline asked, taking a huge bite of the nachos. They were delicious.

"Well, I ….," Rebekah wasn't sure what she did. She had completed her education according to the standards of each age until the early 20th century but she had been distracted after that. She hadn't really pursued an education or an ambition. Which seemed bizarre all of a sudden with Caroline beside her asking all of this. It made Rebekah wondered what exactly she'd done in her life.

"Well, I'm not sure really," Rebekah said, honestly. "I'm not really sure what I like or what I want to do…" Rebekah felt, after living for almost an eternity, and being trapped in a coffin because of Klaus for half of it, it seemed so base for her to say she lacked ambition. She felt pathetic.

Caroline only nodded, though, no sign of judgement on her part. "Well, you should go for some crash courses to see what you like. Learn languages or take up art classes, dance classes, or whatever. We've got forever to live. We should start living it now," Caroline said with a smile before she concentrated on relishing each mouthful of the nachos. Rebekah only stared, a little awestruck and bewildered. She could see what Nik saw.

Things were going according to plan and Klaus was more than pleased with himself. As he walked to the art shop he thought of the morning display at Rousseau's. That little rampage in the bar had been necessary though he didn't really appreciate the way it had gone down. Caroline's presence had been unfortunate but well_, C'est la vie_, as they say. Marcel had to be sent a message and now that Cammie had been captured and stowed away in a secure location Marcel would have no choice but to fold. His antics were annoying but predictable and Klaus was exploiting his predictability to its full potential. He had set the stage and now he only had to wait for the perfect moment to allow the dominos to fall.

Upon reaching the art shop, Klaus was surprised to find the place covered in Caroline's scent. It was still too strong and a regular intake of shallow breathing alerted him to her presence – or ironically, the lack of it.

"I know you're there, love. You can come out," he called out, amused. He knew her position but wanted to give her a chance to reveal herself. He could hear her breathing and fidgeting. Never one to stay still, that one, he thought to himself. It was ten long seconds before Caroline finally decided to show herself. She had an annoyed look on her face.

"Were you hiding from me?" Klaus asked. Had today's actions scared her? He felt oddly annoyed at the thought. He didn't want Caroline to be afraid of him. Though, there was a part of him which rejoiced in it. He was, after all, an alpha. He liked to be seen as a force to be reckoned with. He didn't want Caroline to think him favouring her was a sign of weakness.

"Maybe," she admitted, looking like a sullen child. She stood at a distance which she refused to close.

"Why?" He asked.

"Just because," She shrugged. "Come to check out your paintings?"

Klaus nodded. "Yes, what are you doing here?"

"I was just passing by, really."

Klaus raised an eyebrow at her response. "Really, now?" Was she up to something?

"Really," she promised. "How did you know I was here?"

"I could smell you," he shrugged. Caroline's face distorted into horror and Klaus couldn't help but laugh at it. She looked funny.

"That's so creepy," she said, eyeing him distastefully. Klaus shook his head like a disappointed parent.

"You should try it," He said. "It is very useful to be able to distinguish by scent a human, vampire and werewolf. Especially for a baby vampire like you in a city full of all kinds of species." Klaus walked closer to the paintings put up on display, as if to examine them.

"Every organism has a unique scent but it is always bound by a common parent scent of its species. In time, you can learn to extract the individual from the species, but initially, it is easier to catch onto the scent dictating their species. Think of scents as signatures and peel them apart."

Caroline was going to take offence at being called inexperience for she had outsmarted Klaus without his knowledge a lot of times but instead, Caroline found herself strangely entranced by Klaus's words. He seemed so engaging. She was suddenly struck by the fact that he would make an excellent mentor and teacher. He had a way with words. Also, she wanted to turn this moment of conflict into a moment of learning.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Are you asking?" Klaus cocked his head to the side with a strange look of triumph in his eyes. Caroline eyed the triumphant glint warily.

"No," she said firmly when she realized Klaus would never give without taking. And whatever price Klaus would have in mind would be too high for Caroline to bear.

"You're limiting yourself, Caroline. What are you holding on to so dearly? _Let go_," Klaus peered into Caroline's eyes and she felt as if he was scouring through her soul for answers. She looked away. She felt Klaus move to stand next to her.

"I could teach you, if that is what you want," Klaus tried to make amends but unsuccessfully because Caroline had already moved on from the topic.

"I'll figure it out on my own," Caroline said meeting his challenging gaze defiantly. He only smiled.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did."

A small frown worked its way to Caroline's mouth. She hadn't expected Klaus to express confidence in her abilities. She was usually used to people underestimating her. Well, it was good to know he wasn't one of them. Because he wouldn't know what would hit him if he wasn't on his guard.

"You know, when I was first turned, I was hit with so many scents and emotions I just couldn't focus on anything," Klaus said, with a soft smile on his face. He gestured to the paintings hanging on display. "I turned to art. It was a great comfort. I used to categorize each smell and identify it with a colour, even my emotions. It helped. It took me a long time to understand their nature and composition."

Caroline cocked her head to the side, drinking in his words. "And once you did?"

He seemed lost in some memory but at Caroline's words he snapped back to reality. "Well, once I accomplished that," he said, turning to Caroline, "I realized I could make my own scents. Throw enemies off of my trail; create new scents to disguise mine or alter the signature of a scent to make it seem similar to another. The possibilities were endless and exciting, really. And I had all the time in the world to explore them. Well, almost."

"Who did you have to run from?" Caroline asked. Klaus looked surprised at her question and her ability to conclude what she did from his words. He chose to look at her questioningly, willing her to elaborate the cause behind her question. "Well, you said you chose to disguise your scent and stuff...why would you need to, though? Unless you were running from something or someone."

Klaus looked at her appraisingly. She always seemed to surprise him with her keen observational skills. He found he could almost laugh, without any malice, at the purely curious expression on Caroline's face. With her eyes wide and expectant like a petulant child's, she looked rather amusing.

"I was running from my father," he said, surprising even himself at having revealed it. He hadn't intended to. But he couldn't hold himself back. He hadn't found a good reason _not_ to. And more importantly, he found somewhere in being that he wanted to. "He hated us...what we were. _Vampires,"_ Klaus sneered, reminded of the way his father – no, not really his father, spoke the words, "and he wanted to kill us."

Caroline's eyes widened at his revelation. She felt his story reverberate with her own. She was reminded of her father and the torture chamber where he tried to make her become 'normal' again. She flinched at the memory. Caroline was so overcome with shock at the resemblance that she missed when Klaus said "us" and did not seek to inquire as to who it was that Klaus was referring to apart from. Instead, she whispered, "Yeah, believe it or not, I had the same dad. He – he too – I mean, he hated vampires too. And he tried to – well, hurt, uh -" She couldn't complete the sentence. She could feel her throat close up and her eyes become cloudy. _Oh God, don't cry and embarrass yourself, Caroline!_ She admonished herself.

She realized that if she opened her mouth to say one more word she would break down into tears. So she stood there awkwardly, trying to calm herself down. She also realized that over the course of their conversation the physical space, and perhaps another kind of distance, had decreased. She felt Klaus's fingers graze her shoulder – perhaps in an attempt to comfort her – before they moved away. Klaus wondered what her father had done for her to be so upset. He felt a surge of anger and protectiveness rage inside him. He desperately wanted to do something to make her feel okay. The only way he could think of was by changing the topic. He turned to the morning's events .

"Aren't you going to ask me what this morning was about?" he said quickly. He felt Caroline look up slowly, her eyes were shining and held a trace of lingering sorrow but mostly they held confusion and then determination. Klaus smiled quietly to himself.

"No, I wasn't planning to. I have my assumptions, though."

"A product of my _despicable_ _power hungry_ personality?" Klaus echoed the words Caroline had used to describe him the night of their spat. Caroline smiled at this before saying,

"On the contrary, I think it was a carefully planned strategic move."

Klaus's expression of surprise and curiosity, Caroline scoffed. "I'm not stupid, Klaus, I knew exactly what you were doing. You waited till Cammie was in the room to unleash that violence. You were sending a message," Caroline said matter-of-factly. He looked at her curiously. She always seemed to surprise him.

"That's what I like about you; you're so much more than a pretty face," Klaus said, appraisingly. Caroline scoffed. "Well, my worth wouldn't be compromised even if I were _just_ a pretty face."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, I believe that women who draw strength from only their looks shouldn't be bemoaned and pitched against women who draw their strengths from other sources," she looked a little awkward and self-conscious making her little speech, but Klaus could see her defiance in the tilt of her jaw, and the posturing of her shoulders. She really believed what she said.

There she was again. Surprising him. She didn't take his words as a compliment. She didn't let him categorize her. Didn't let him _bemoan_ other women for what she possessed and they didn't. She was so – _human_.

She was always so nostalgic, Klaus felt. And he didn't really believe in nostalgia. He was all about moving forward, forgetting the past – but she seemed to stubbornly want to belong to it and incorporate it into her present and future. She was so human in the way that she expressed concern over other _women_ and against objectification. She was so _human_ in the way she was bound by their revolutions and conventions.

And in that moment, Klaus realized he did not altogether detest the human in her. It was refreshing and interesting. It was also...rejuvenating. It made _him_ nostalgic. It made him remember that though he was not bound ostensibly by what he considered the human condition, he would always be trapped intrinsically in it. He would always ostensibly resemble them and intrinsically be trapped by them in language and ideology.

"What makes you think Marcel is a better King than I?" Klaus asked. He knew what an average person would say but he wanted to know what Caroline thought of it. He had thought he had outsmarted everyone at every stage but she seemed to be immune to his plans and charms. Perhaps she had seen through this ruse too?

"Well, Marcel understands friendship. He understands the importance of having a cordial relationship with everyone he intends to do business with. He understands politics." And she thought him to be a bad ruler based on that? Well, he couldn't really put it past her to think of him that way. Most of the times he had been violent in her presence and he couldn't really always chalk it up to it being a part of his plan.

"Everything he learned, he learnt it from me," Klaus complained. Caroline rolled her eyes at his response.

"Surprising," she remarked, earning a glare from Klaus. "Well, it is the truth. He is a better student than you give him credit for. He learnt not only what you taught him, but turned it into more. He realizes friendship and cordiality works better than threats and violence."

"You know, love, you don't really know me all that well," he hated how defensive and small his argument made him seem. But he needed Caroline to accept that her knowledge was limited. To his relief she did concede. A little.

"True...but walking into a powerful witch's shop and holding her by the throat while you make demands is _not_ really a display of your less violent methods so you can't really blame me," she said. Klaus was surprised that she knew of it. Although he had made sure to make a spectacle of it, he was still surprised.

He shrugged, "Some things must be done, however distasteful they might seem."

"Well, I don't believe in such a cold outlook," Caroline tugged at the sleeve of her beige jacket. Klaus found himself giving her a small smile. She seemed so naive yet wise at the same time. "I know you're planning something. I don't see you very often about town. I know it's something big. I can feel it."

"Are you worried?"

"Aren't you?"

* * *

"Hey, Caroline, I'm so glad you could make it," _but considering the fact that I organized an entire party just to have you here, technically _you _should be the one thanking me,_ Rebekah thought to herself, but smiled amiably nevertheless.

"Yeah, thanks for having me," Caroline said a little warily as she entered the mansion. "Of course, come let me get you a drink," Rebekah said as she led her inside. There was really loud music playing with hordes of drunk people screeching and dancing.

"Wow, you know all of them?" Caroline asked and immediately felt kind of silly because in big cities of course it is impossible to know everyone. Rebekah didn't seem to notice this and just shrugged.

"Not really," she had a disgusted expression on her face. Caroline wondered why she looked disgusted but didn't give the idea much thought.

"So, I never asked you yesterday. What are you doing here, in New Orleans, I mean?" Rebekah asked conversationally as they walked towards the bar.

"Oh. I just can't wait for my classes to start," Caroline said. Rebekah raised an eyebrow at the mention of classes. "Classes?" she prompted when Caroline didn't seem as if she was going to offer an explanation any time soon.

"Yeah, apart from the great _art and music_," Caroline said the last part in a British accent, at which Rebekah laughed, "I've actually come to this city to study Event Management at NOLA University."

"How come you didn't tell me that yesterday?" Rebekah sounded a little accusatory.

"Well, you never asked," Caroline shrugged. Rebekah peered at her, trying to determine if the vampire was saying the truth or not. Finding no coherent reason for her to skip out on information she was willingly, offering, Rebekah accepted her explanation.

"That's...admirable," Rebekah surprised herself by saying. Caroline let out a nervous laugh. "Coming here all alone to a strange city full of vampires for _educational _purposes, quite...refreshing," Rebekah smiled. And it was in this moment that Rebekah decided she liked the girl. Which made Rebekah very uneasy about what she was going to do. But it had to be done, nevertheless. Like Nik loved to say, _C'est la vie. _That pretentious prick.

"Yeah, I...I've always wanted to study event management," her voice seemed forlorn as if there was more to the story but Rebekah found herself strangely content, especially for now, and decided not to probe. "And I liked the course they were offering here...so I applied. And got accepted. And well, here I am."

Rebekah nodded, not entirely interested in the girl's narrative. "So, what do you want to drink?" Rebekah motioned to the Mikaelson bar was something to boast about but the bartender Rebekah hired not so much. He seemed to be a blubbering idiot. But he was rather good looking so Rebekah shot him a coquettish smile which he returned. The idiot. He was going to be a rather tasty dinner for tonight.

"Um, a beer would be fine," Caroline said, incredulous that there was a _bartender_ at the house party. The rich did go all out. Rebekah nodded at the bartender to fetch Caroline the assortment of beers kept towards the right. "A whiskey for me," she said as she handed Caroline her drink. As soon as Caroline took a sip her head snapped up in disbelief.

"Is this laced with _blood_?"

"Yeah, it is," Rebekah replied nonchalantly as she took a sip of her blood laced whiskey.

"Whose blood is it?"

Rebekah raised an eyebrow at Caroline's incredulous question. "What?" she snorted. "How on earth am I supposed to answer such a ridiculous query?"

Rebekah eyed the crowd tastefully. She felt like going and dancing. When she turned back to Caroline to see if she'd take up the offer she found a distasteful expression clouding her face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"How could you - how - I don't _even_," the girl sputtered intelligibly.

"For God's sake, what is the matter with you? Speak clearly," Rebekah said irritated at the girl's hysterics. She saw the girl take a deep breath and place the bottle of beer on the counter of the bar.

"The blood not to your liking? Would you prefer something fresh?" Rebekah motioned towards the bartender who stood there unaware of the immediate peril he was facing.

The girl gasped sharply before taking a deep breath and exhaling. "Okay, then," Rebekah said, unamused by her antics. "Now, will you tell me what on earth is the matter with you? Why are you behaving so strangely?"

"Do you not see how wrong it is to bleed some human dry for party snacks!?- GOD, what is up with this city? Everyone I meet here is so unbelievably monstrous," the girl sputtered, now not so unintelligible and Rebekah not so very happy at her words.

"Okay, listen, I don't know where you come from and what you've seen but you can't shove your self-righteous bullshit down my throat. This is the way I choose to live, and if you don't like it, you're allowed to disagree. Like I'm allowed to disagree with your bleeding heart attitude. Now, I'm not going to make a big show out of it or force you to quit your ways but if you don't stop giving me crap about this and continue to ruin my evening, I am going to be very displeased. So can we both agree to disagree or are you going to be angry at me for the rest of eternity?"

Caroline seemed taken aback by Rebekah's speech but she had to concede that Rebekah made some...coherent points. Caroline nodded hesitantly. "Okay, I'll let it go for now, but we're _not_ done talking about this."

Rebekah sighed. "Something tells me I'm getting the better end of the deal even in this very sour moment, so fine, we'll _talk_ later." She turned to the bartender. "Fetch her the normal beer."

After Caroline had been given her drink Rebekah said, "So, do you want to dance or what?"

Caroline sighed but acquiesced. If nothing then dancing would lift her spirits. And much to her surprise it did. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this carefree and _happy_ after she stepped into this Godforsaken city. Rebekah was a crazy silly fun dancer and Caroline couldn't have asked for a better partner. After what seemed an hour of crazy dancing, Caroline felt herself being tugged at by Rebekah.

"I'm getting myself a drink, do you want one?"

"Yeah, a vodka neat," Caroline said as she continued to sway to the music. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned.

"Hey, you came pretty fast –" she was saying as she turned but stopped mid-way because it wasn't Rebekah who had touched her shoulder. It was Klaus. And he looked very angry.

* * *

Caroline Forbes had not been the least bit surprised when she received her letter of acceptance from the University of NOLA. With her straight A's and letters of recommendation and extracurricular activities, there was _no way_ that she could not have made the cut. So when the letter arrived, she was happy, but nervous about disclosing its contents to Enzo. She hadn't really told him of her plans. They hardly stayed in one place long enough for them to have a decent conversation. It was just the way things were. And also Caroline was scared. Of being ridiculed. Of being abandoned. Of not being understood.

So she had refrained from allowing Enzo to find anything about it until before she knew that

NOLA was indeed a reality. When the letter of acceptance was disclosed to him Enzo had been upset. He didn't like the idea that Caroline wanted to leave their adventure to go _study_. He tried arguing against it but Caroline's face had told him there was no talking around it. And Enzo had to concede.

Before Caroline rented the small one-bedroom apartment she knew exactly how she was going to decorate it; the colour of the curtains, the flowers she was going to grow in the window box, the number of utensils in her kitchen, the type of wood her furniture was going to be in - everything. She had impeccably planned everything down to the T to make sure nothing could go wrong.

She had decided that the best way to start college would be by buying a lot of new stuff and a part time job to support her. The scholarship didn't cover everything and Caroline knew it would be a good time to start earning money and saving up. That led her to responding to the 'Hiring!' sign hung outside of the bar she had been walking by. And what a decision it had been – one she regretted more than anything else. That one decision had triggered more trouble than she had any space for in her life.

And now she seemed to be on a roll as she found herself realizing that the girl who invited her to this party was Klaus's sister. _Klaus's sist_er! Caroline didn't even know Klaus had siblings. Caroline couldn't even fathom such a thought. So when Klaus asked her what she was doing in his home, in a party organized by his sister, Caroline found herself to be befuddled with only the realization that the forces of nature, or at least, the forces of New Orleans were conspiring to utterly fuck her up.

"You're his _sister_?" Caroline said more than asked, fuming silently as she watched the girl in question flit to stand in front of her. "What is _wrong_ with you? I thought we were friends_,_" Caroline could feel tears sting her eyes. She had felt like she had finally, _finally_ found a friend and then this had to happen.

"I can explain –" Rebekah began but Caroline was already stomping away. Rebekah wanted to chase after her and explain herself but she knew the entire purpose of concocting this plan would be lost if she didn't act now.

"_What_ is this, Rebekah?" Klaus growled. He knew that this was not a happy coincidence. He was not that stupid, Rebekah was delighted find.

"A reminder, and a warning," she said plainly. Klaus raised an eyebrow as he stalked towards her. Although they were surrounded by loud music and drunk people crashing into one another, there seemed to be a dangerous silence enveloping them.

"_What_ did you say?" Klaus asked, menacingly. Rebekah scoffed at his attempt at intimidation. It was working.

"That what you reap will be what you sow, Nik. Rights work both ways. If I'm not allowed to love, neither are you," she said smirking slightly, although the words cut her deep inside.

To know that she could not love without his fucking _permission_. The fucking bastard. She internally flinched at her choice of word. It wasn't the best even to think of the word – but he deserved it.

"I do not allow myself to feel such a lowly pathetic _human_," he spat the last word, "_thing_, dear sister."

"Well, then this shouldn't have mattered," Rebekah said, raising her chin. Her brother seemed to be at a loss for words for an entire minute. Which was very long. "If you go for it, then I go for it, Nik," she said and suddenly Nik's face changed and she knew that he _knew_ and he _understood_.

He took a step back and smirked cruelly. "So _this_ is what it is about? Still hung up on that pathetic vermin –"

"_Don't_," Rebekah hissed, baring her fangs in warning.

"You can try all you want, sister. But he can never fit into our forever and always," he seemed completely at ease now. Like he had won the argument. Like the ball was in his court. The ball was always, _always_ in his fucking court. And Rebekah was sick of it.

"And _she_ will?"

"No. No one will. Ever," Klaus said walking out of the party. Rebekah stopped him at the door, she couldn't let him leave without extracting a bargain, a promise, an _apology_ out of him.

"You're not fooling me, Nik. I've seen the way you look at her. And if you go for it, I go for it," although Rebekah meant to say these words threateningly, she was suddenly confused as to where the threat really lay. She was confused at the realization that she was in fact feebly pleading. She didn't know how she had ended up here, again. "I want you to love, Nik. And let me love, too. Don't deny your happiness and try to take away mine with it too. Stop doing this to me. You're killing me," Rebekah said, no longer able to contain her tears. She hated her helplessness. She hated her brother.

Nik seemed extremely perturbed by her tears and she could feel the guilt rising in him. If it could only lead him to change his mind. But as soon as the guilt rose the anger and indignation crushed it.

"What's done is done, Rebekah. I want these hooligans to leave my house. You have five minutes," Nik said as he vanished into the night, leaving a crushed tearful Rebekah at the door.

* * *

It had been an hour since she had stormed out of the party and ran aggressively for a half hour before she discovered that she was halfway across the town, near the Mississippi river. Caroline crashed into the Jackson Square garden and decided to sit in the park for sometime before she headed home. Home. The thought sent shivers down her spine. It was not home anymore. There was no home anywhere, she realized bitterly as she swallowed the lump in her throat.

She couldn't understand why she was so emotional all of a sudden. Maybe it was all the alcohol in her system making her hyperventilate. She didn't even know Rebekah that well. So why did it hurt so bad? It's because for the first time, Caroline had thought, someone was talking to her because they genuinely liked her and wanted to be friends with her: no ulterior motives or whatever. And Caroline realized she liked talking, hadn't spoken in so long - since Enzo left. And she liked Rebekah, liked the way Rebekah seemed interested in her life, in her thoughts. UGH. Caroline hated not having friends, and she'd been trying really, really hard to make friends but failing and finally Rebekah had come along and she thought she didn't need to try so hard anymore but here she was again: friendless.

As Caroline hailed a cab for home - she realized she wasn't failing anyone, this city was failing her. And she refused to allow others' failures break her. When she got to the door of her apartment she was surprised to find Rebekah sitting there at her doorstep.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline asked, coldly. Rebekah stood up as she realized she had been caught unaware.

"I came to apologize. I didn't mean for you to get hurt. I – ," Caroline raised a palm to ask her to stop.

"Your apologies aren't needed. What happened, happened. I would appreciate you leaving me alone," Caroline said as she motioned Rebekah to move away from the door. Rebekah stood still.

"No, I need you to listen to me because I don't do this - ever, apologizing and everything - and - and I - I need you to be my friend, Caroline. And I feel like you need a friend too."

Caroline crossed her arms across her chest defensively. "So, that's your big speech. You need a friend and you think I do too."

"Yes," Rebekah said simply. "Now you can either turn me away and regret it for eternity," Caroline scoffed and Rebekah gave her an indulgent smile, "_or_ you could invite me in so I could explain everything and then you can decide if you want to be friends or not."

_uh-oh_, Caroline thought. She couldn't invite Rebekah in because the house was not in her name, it was in a human's name and that is how she intended it to be. She didn't want to invite any vampires into her home. Caroline put her best tired face and sighed dramatically,

"Listen, Rebekah, I appreciate you coming out here and doing this –, but I'm really tired right now. We can talk about this tomorrow, okay?"

Rebekah stared at her intently before moving out of her way. "Okay, tomorrow morning. I'll see you at Rousseau's." Rebekah didn't wait for an answer before she vanished into the night. Caroline groaned as she opened the door and collapsed on her couch. When she went to bed that night, her last coherent thoughts before slipping into sleep were_, yep, the universe is totally fucking with me._

"Look what the cat dragged in," Caroline muttered the next afternoon as she saw Rebekah _waltz_ into the bar. Who the fuck _waltzes_ in like that anyway? How high was Rebekah's self-esteem?

After yesterday's outburst, Caroline was sure that as soon as she would step into _Rousseau's_ Camille would fire her. But to her surprise, she wasn't there. The rest of the staff didn't know her whereabouts and mostly did not care. Caroline followed in their footsteps and did her work for the day. She had been planning on resigning today but seeing as Camille was not in, her resignation would have to wait.

"Oh, don't be such a drag, Caroline. Let bygones be bygones," Rebekah said as she took her spot on the bar stool. Caroline glared at her.

"You know I'm not entirely over the whole ordeal you put me through yesterday, so can you do both of us a favour and lower the bitchiness?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes and said, "Okay, whatever the queen wishes."

"So, classes are going to start next week. Are you excited?"

Caroline hated the fact that Rebekah somehow knew what to talk about to distract her. And Caroline always found herself taking the bait somehow. Mostly, it was because she couldn't understand why Rebekah was so keen on being friends with her. How lonely was she? The answer: as lonely Caroline herself was.

"Yes," Caroline sighed. The thing was that living alone in a strange city wasn't entirely as exciting as everybody had made it up to be. Caroline wanted friends, she wanted to _talk_. She wanted to talk about her classes, and everything she was hoping it would be, and the only decent person in the vicinity seemed to be Rebekah, which wasn't much. Caroline wasn't for reclusive behaviour, she was a people's person and she couldn't _not_ help herself talking and over sharing. It had just been such a long time since she last spoke to someone candidly about the normal things that she wanted in life that when Rebekah poked around the wound, the stream of blabber rushed out without warning.

"I'm very much excited," Caroline said. "I hope the teachers are good. And I hope they give us really good assignments. I'm so excited to meet more people."

"Aw, are you saying I'm not good company?"

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "I hope I find normal people," she sighed dramatically while

Rebekah sneered. "You're acting as if I'm some kind of a monster," Rebekah snorted. "Wait, I am," she said and chuckled at her own joke. Caroline shook her head in mock-disgust.

"Also," Caroline said, leaning over the bar table to make sure nobody else hears her, "I'm leaving this godforsaken place."

"Oh?" Rebekah asked, tilting her head in surprise. "Already?"

"I have had enough of this place. I stayed for _three months_, I deserve a freaking award for not going crazy," Caroline said throwing her hands up in frustration as she was reminded of her awful time in Rousseau's. "I'm going to look for another part-time job. I was actually going to turn in my resignation today but Cammie didn't come in today," Caroline groaned.

"I guess you'll just have to leave it at the front desk," Rebekah smirked, motioning towards the dart board. Caroline raised an eyebrow but didn't entirely dismiss the idea. It had panache.

"So, you said you were going to explain what that was about," Caroline said as soon as they found a cafe to sit in. Rebekah eyed her distastefully. It seemed like Caroline was not one to wait.

"Yes, I did," Rebekah leaned back in her chair and sighed. This was going to be a while. "Well, Nik has always been a bit possessive and he never really appreciated me or any one, in his life actually," she snorted, "to get a life and a happiness of their own...And yesterday night was about me trying to have my way for once."

"By using me as a threat? I'm not sure your brother cares so much about me," Caroline said. She noticed the way Rebekah looked away and chose not to answer. "I don't care about him," Caroline said, after a while. Rebekah looked at the Caroline and gave her a sad smile. She didn't really believe Caroline could hold up against Nik. He was very compelling. There was something very undeniably charming in her brother which somehow no one seemed to be able to resist. Over the years, Rebekah had seen entire communities willingly plunging themselves into chaos just to be of some service to her brother. He was dangerous because he was always more coercive than assaultive. She really hoped Caroline would not be swayed by him. He did not deserve her, that much could be seen.

"Don't forget I noticed you missed out on a lot of details in your explanation," Caroline remarked as they were about to leave. Rebekah looked at her, surprised. "I know there's more to your story. Some day, I hope you'll voluntarily tell me. Till then, I can make do with what you've given. I just want you to know that if you betray me or use me again like that, I will remove you from my life."

Rebekah wanted to scoff. That was her threat? To not be part of her _life_? But instead, Rebekah regarded Caroline with curiosity. She had never known friendship like hers' in the centuries that she'd lived. Partly because she had been unconscious for most of her life, and partly because she had been too hungry for other things to enjoy friendships.

"I understand," Rebekah said. But she really didn't as Caroline would find out later.

* * *

Caroline was never shy about her romantic or sexual desires. She was always sure of who she wanted and why. She knew her feelings towards Klaus were not of a romantic or sexual kind. Of course, he was attractive. Sometimes Caroline found herself stealing glances at him. But she also knew there wasn't _no _feelings towards Klaus apart from the negative ones she harboured and carefully nourished for fear of joining the devil's party.

Yes, Caroline Forbes had, on several occasions, found herself musing on Klaus's agreeable qualities far more than is recommended by sanity. She had found herself thinking about conversations with him, his silences, his complex multi-layered , yet seriously messed up, personality – she had found herself investing too much time in trying to understand him and she loathed it. But how could she not? He was such an interesting person and she was so very curious.

As a result, there were feelings that Caroline had for Klaus that were left unaccounted for. She could not neatly categorize them and their ambiguity irritated her to no end. She was proud of her meticulous organizational skills but Klaus was a hazy elusive compound refusing to adjust to her categories. He was a despicable ruthless murderer but he was also a – and she flinched at the thought of it – a sensitive (kinda?) person. He was thoughtful and a good listener and an excellent mentor. He was knowledgeable but never used it as an accessory to demean Caroline. He was – nice. Kind of. To her.

She was extremely suspicious of his niceties and preferred his violent outbursts. The latter made it hard for her to categorize him under 'hardcore villainous asshole'. She found it hard to...understand him. Though she could see that his ..._friendly_ behaviour – and if such a word could be used then perhaps their relationship (if there existed such a thing between them) could also be categorized then as friendship perhaps – was genuine.

He was genuinely nice to her. Which freaked her out even more. Because in moments like these she could easily forget herself, her insecurities and just babble on about everything on her mind. He was so...engaging and enchanting that Caroline often saw herself yielding to his questions; she was always mostly free with him. And that idea scared her. This _friendship_ that had sort of grown between them greatly perturbed her but also comforted her. She liked listening to him talk. She liked talking to him. She liked his...company. But he had a sexual interest in her so Caroline never really knew how much of his _interest_ in her life was genuine. Perhaps sexual gratification would cease any further queries into her thoughts. Perhaps. But sometimes when she'd catch Klaus looking at her, he'd have a strange look on his face which would make Caroline feel extremely uncomfortable. It was intimate and...full of yearning. It was as if ...he also had romantic designs on her– Caroline hated this line of thought and immediately abandoned it. There was no point in thinking along those lines.

Caroline had known too many guys she thought were interested in _her, _beyond her physical self, but she was always greeted with disappointment. So, though she knew Klaus's niceties were genuine, he did not believe his interest in her extended beyond his expectation of sexual gratification. She was sure that Klaus was only in it for her body and sure he might be sometimes interested in what she said but of course, in the end Caroline knew better.

So when Klaus arrested her on her way back from the book shop where she had gone to buy books, she found herself annoyed. She was carrying bags of books which cost thousands of dollars thanks to America's overpriced education system, and weighed a bazillion lbs so that even her super vampire strength wasn't sufficient for her to carry it all the way to her apartment; she had to walk for she could not afford taxi rides any more. And Klaus's sudden appearance annoyed her, for :

was in pain.

had to walk because she was poor and that was depressing.

books cost a lot and that was depressing.

had no job because everybody in the city was crazy and that was also depressing.

hated Klaus because he confused her and she didn't like confusion.

"Klaus, what are you doing here?" she snapped before he could extend any form of greeting. He raised an eyebrow at her snappishness.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today," he muttered, amused. She was walking at an unusual speed, with bags of what Klaus thought were books. She kept switching them from one hip to the other, the top of the tower of books grazing her chin; he found it quite funny, especially when it was matched with her anger. As if reading his thoughts Caroline rolled her eyes but kept walking, "You're not funny. _This_ is not funny."

"Do you need any help, love?" He asked. Caroline stopped abruptly to glare at him. "No, actually, I don't," she resumed her walking. Klaus raised his hands as if in surrender and did that annoying eye and mouth thing which Caroline found kind of appealing but also infuriating because she didn't believe people like him should be allowed to look harmless and cute. Ugh, she hated the fact that she used the word cute for him.

"You know, this is what happens when you restrict yourself to stale blood instead of fresh from the vein," she heard Klaus say as he walked beside her. She hated the picture of 'casual promenade in the evening' they were projecting to onlookers. She detested his comfortable casual behaviour with her. She detested him and his comment on her diet. She truly detested – "when was the last time you ate?" he asked pulling Caroline's rant to an abrupt stop.

"Well?" he prompted when they reached intersection and were waiting for the light to change to green. Caroline couldn't remember so she didn't answer. She remembered running out of blood bags a few days ago and then reminding herself to replenish her stock but forgetting. She had had to subsist on human food and it was clearly not enough. But of course, it would make sense that she was feeling so weak because of lack of blood not because of supernatural weight attached to the books. "Oh, I need to get some bags today," she remarked aloud, as the light turned green and they crossed the road.

Klaus gave her an admonishing look which Caroline felt indignant at. Why was he looking at her as a disapproving parent? So what she missed her meals? God, did his bazillion years make him think he could parent her or something? Instead of pointing it out she chose to turn the attention to him, "You didn't answer my question. What _are_ you doing here?"

Noticing the redness of her palms and beads of sweat on her face and armpits, Klaus moved to take the bag from her but she pulled out of reach and shook her head. "Nah, I'll manage. It's my punishment of sorts – to not be so foolish as to repeat it."

Klaus gave her an unfathomable look but conceded. "Well, you were complaining the other day that you do not get to see me often so I decided to pay you a visit," he said, placing a light hand on her shoulder to guide her through the traffic on the footpath. Caroline wondered if it was also a mechanized or carefully engineered gesture in his master plan to sleep with her or if it was...a normal natural gesture devoid of any malicious intentions. She secretly hoped it was the latter. Nobody could fake so much.

Caroline assessed him warily and shifted her books to her right hip. "Really, now?" She echoed his words from earlier.

"No," he challenged. She obstinately stared at him until he found himself relenting, "It could perhaps also be related to the incident which occurred a few nights ago. I wanted to see how you were holding up. Or it could be a part of some evil I have contrived."

Caroline snorted; they were a block away from her building, she noticed. "I wouldn't be surprised. Well, for your information I'm perfectly fine."

"I apologize on behalf of my sister. She doesn't understand normal relationships."

"Oh, you don't need to. She apologized for herself and I think she understands relationships and people far more than you give her credit for," Caroline's fingers tightened on her books. Klaus stared, dumbfounded at Caroline's remark.

"You don't say...," he muttered. He didn't like the way she was looking at him. Like she knew. Everything. Like she knew every dirty little shameful secret Klaus hid in the recesses of his flesh. He didn't like the fact that she looked at him like she had known it all along but only allowed it to surface now. He felt transparent and vulnerable. He didn't like it at all.

"You don't need to be so afraid you know," she said quietly. Her demeanor had changed, Klaus noticed. She somehow seemed smaller and yet reserved.

"I'm afraid of _nothing_. I'm the most powerful being on earth," Klaus scoffed. She was looking at him in that infuriating manner. As if all of his defences had proved futile against her inspection. Klaus was suddenly afraid, he realized. Afraid that she was going to say something – something very revealing, which would claw at his being more than her accusation of him being afraid and he would come undone in front of this baby vampire. But, to his utmost relief, in the end, she only shrugged, though her eyes let Klaus know that she knew more than she let on. He hated that more often than not, she seemed to have the upper hand in their...well, whatever they were. _Well_, Klaus thought smugly as they neared Caroline's block, _this time I have the upper hand_. And his upper hand just walked in, revealing it.

He _felt_, rather than saw, Caroline's body stiffen and freeze. Her hold on the books loosened and they fell to the ground, in abandon. Her gaze moved to the men standing in front of her building door to Klaus who had a grave but triumphant expression on his face. She looked back to the men.

"Stefan? Damon?" Caroline whispered, flabbergasted. "What are you doing here?"

"Care," Stefan moved towards her to envelop her in a hug. "He found us."

"So, evil plan it was," Caroline murmured, turning to Klaus. He only smiled. "You seem surprised."

* * *

**A/N - **Review, lovelies :)

Also, I REALLY NEED A BETA READER. If anyone knows anyone who might be interested, please PM me.


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